Judge sets bond for man charged in father's killing

A Mount Holly man accused of killing his father can get out of jail if he posts a $250,000 bond.

Wade Allen

A Mount Holly man accused of killing his father can get out of jail if he posts a $250,000 bond.

Judge Robert Sumner set the bond amount Friday, although prosecutors had asked during a hearing Wednesday that Jiten Patel receive a bond no less than $1 million.

Patel, 28, had been held without bond since being arrested Jan. 12 and placed on suicide watch. He’s accused of fatally shooting his father, Ashwin Patel, who owned the BP convenience store on N.C. 16 in Mount Holly on Jan. 11.

If Patel posts bail he’ll also have to turn in his passport and not be able to leave Gaston County. Prosecutors expressed concern Wednesday that Patel would go to India where he has contacts if released.

Patel’s whereabouts also would be tracked through satellite-based monitoring if released, said Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hamlin.

The judge also ordered that Patel not have any contact with witnesses in the case and not to be at the crime site – his home on Gaston Avenue in Mount Holly – or the BP gas station on N.C. 16 that his father operated.

Hamlin said she spoke with Jiten Patel’s mother, who is also the widow of the deceased, on Friday to arrange a time for them to meet. Mrs. Patel was out of town when the killing occurred.

Jiten Patel’s attorney Brent Ratchford said he spoke with Mrs. Patel for the first time Friday, although he declined to say what they discussed.

Ratchford said he did not know if his client would be able to post bail.

“I thought what he ordered was very reasonable,” Ratchford said of the bond.